The Porziuncola Project
The Holy Scriptures
"Ignorance of the Scripture is ignorance of Christ"
-St. Jerome
"All Scripture is divinely inspired and has its use for teaching..."
1 Tim. 3:16-17
Sacred Scripture, Its Inspiration and Divine Interpretation
Here is a quote of paragraph Chapter 3, paragraph 11 of the Catholic Church's document Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation. It was written by Pope Paul VI together with the Fathers of the Sacred Council (The Second Vatican Council) on November 18th, 1965.
This document reaffirmed the Church's two-thousand year old teaching of the importance and Divine Revelation of Sacred Scripture. The Document only served to re-affirm what the Catholic Church has always believed. Here is what it says about "the author":
The Divinely revealed realities which are contained and presented in sacred Scripture have been committed to writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. For Holy Mother Church, relying on the belief of the apostles, holds that the books of both the Old and New Testaments in their entirety, with all their parts, are sacred and canonical because written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author and have been handed on as such to the Church herself. In composing the sacred books, God chose men and while employed by Him they made use of their powers and abilities, so that with Him acting in them and through them, they, as true authors, consigned to writing everything and only those things which He wanted.
Therefore since everything asserted by the inspired authors or sacred writers must be held to be asserted by the Holy Spirit, it follows that the books of Scripture must be acknowledged as teaching solidly, faithfully, and without error that truth which God wanted put into the sacred writings, for the sake of our salvation. "Therefore, all Scripture is divinely inspired and has its use for teaching the truth and refuting error, for reformation of manners and discipline in right living, so that the man who belongs to God may be efficient and equipped for good work of every kind" (2 Tim. 3: 16-17)
A Short History of the Bible
The Bible is composed of 73 Books, 46 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. Each book of the Bible had the Holy Spirit as it's primary author. The human authors, those who wrote the books, expanded over thousands of years.
The Old Testament is called the "Old Testament" because it refers to the old "Covenant" that God had made with the Jewish people. Prior to the coming of Christ, the prophets spoke of a "New Covenant", an eternal covenant, that God would make with His people.
The "New Testament" is called "New" because it is the fulfillment of all that was prophesied in the Old Covenant. God has fulfilled what He promised to Abraham and his descendants forever. It is an eternal covenant because it is made in Jesus Christ, Son of the Eternal Father.
The Old Testament covers from the Creation of the World up to the coming of the Christ. The New Testament covers from the conception of Saint John the Baptist up to the end of the world (the Book of Revelation).
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Jesus sent the apostles out to preach the Gospel and to teach the observance of the New Covenant. Although some took to writing, they were never commanded to write. Over the centuries certain books, Gospels and letters were used at liturgical celebrations (the earliest Masses). The Catholic Church held in Tradition certain books that they held to be divinely inspired by the Holy Spirit, having the Third Person of the Most Holy Trinity as the primary author.
In the year 357 ad., at the Council of Nicea, the Catholic Church officially decreed the Canon of Scripture (Canon means list). It officially recognized the 46 Books that now compile the Old Testament and the 27 Books that now make up the New Testament. The Council rejected books that were not inspired by the Holy Spirit, these are called the "Apocryphal Gospels" (apocryphal meaning "not inspired"). Here we see that it was the Magisterium of the Catholic Church that looked to Sacred Tradition in order to confirm and give the world the Sacred Scripture! These three fonts of divine revelation always work in unison (Scripture, Tradition, Magisterium), you can't have one without the other.
In 1517, 1,200 years after the Council of Nicea, Martin Luther, the first protestant, on his own authority, did not like several of the books of the Old Testament because they did not fit his theology. Choosing to follow the Jewish Canon of Scripture, that was collected by the 70 Pharisees at the Jewish Council of Jamnia to exclude texts that gave greater clarity to Jesus being the Christ. Martin Luther removed 8 books of the Old Testament. That is why the Protestant Bible is "shorter" than the Catholic Bible. Martin Luther wanted to get rid of the New Testament Letter written by Saint James the Apostle but did not. Instead he just called it "The letter of straw". He also inserted words into the Bible that were not there in order to make it fit his theology. For example; in Romans 8 it says "we are saved by grace". Luther, so as to make it say that we do not need works wrote in "we are saved by grace alone". Because of these and other similar problems, Catholics are asked not to read a Protestant Bible. The Catholic Church wants people to have an authentic and most faithful translation and edition of the Bible. It is for this reason, when you get a new Bible, you should look for one that has the Church's official imprimatur.
The Books of the Bible
When a person looks at the Bible for the first time it can feel overwhelming. Many people don't even know where to begin or what each book is about. It can all be incredibly too much. But there is no reason to be afraid. Let us begin by breaking down the books and how the Bible is assembled.
The First section of the Bible is the first five books known as the Pentateuch. These are the events and stories of creation, Abraham, Moses and the entrance of the people into the Holy Land. Most of us know these stories and are familiar. The author of these first five books has always been known to be no other then Moses himself.
From the book of Joshua until the book of Second Maccabees are known as the Historical Books. The Historical books are just that, the historical records of the history of the people of Israel and how God continually worked acts of love and mercy for them.
The Third section of the Old Testament is the Wisdom Books. From Job to Sirach, the Scriptures tell us of right living and how to pray. It is here you will get wonderful nuggets of wisdom for daily living. Also, the book of Psalms is the official prayer of the Church known as the Divine Office. You will see that the Psalms, mostly written by King David express every human emotion. They are the Holy Spirits gift to us of how to pray.
The final part of the Old Testament is the Prophetic Books. In these books, which begin with Isaiah and go until Malachi, are treasures for seeing how God prophesied the coming of Christ, but also how God was continually calling His children back to His covenant. They are love cries from God to His people. It would be good to read a small introduction to these books because they are each writing at a particular time in history for the Jewish people. Much of what they are saying applies to their times and to us.
The New Testament is really broken up into three section, The Gospels which include all four, the Letters and the book of Revelation. Simply put, the Gospels relate the life of Jesus, the Book of Acts records the life of the early Church, the letters are the living out of the faith as taught by Saint Paul, Saint Peter, Saint James, Saint Jude and Saint John.
In regards to the book of Revelation or Apocolypse, as it is sometimes called, it is not just and end times book. It contains the Divine Liturgy in Heaven, Letters to the Churches, past events AND future events. You could say that it is salvation history all given to be recorded by Saint John the Beloved Disciple.
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Here are the Books of the Bible and their abbreviations:
The Pentateuch:
Genesis...Gn.
Exodus...Ex.
Leviticus...Lv.
Numbers...Nm.
Deuteronomy...Dt.
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Historical Books:
Joshua...Josh
Judges...Judg
Ruth...Ruth
First Samuel...1 Sam
Second Samuel...2 Sam
First Kings...1 Kings
Second Kings...2 Kings
First Chronicles...1 Chron
Second Chronicles...2 Chron
Ezra...Ezra
Nehemiah...Neh
Tobit...Tob
Judith...Jud
Esther...Esther
First Maccabees...1 Mac
Second Maccabees...2 Mac
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Wisdom Books:
Job...Job
Psalms...Ps
Proverbs...Prov
Ecclesiastes...Eccles
Song of Songs...Song
Wisdom...SWis
Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)...Sir
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Prophetic Books:
Isaiah...Is
Jeremiah...Jer
Lamentations...Lam
Baruch...Bar
Ezekiel...Ezek
Daniel...Dan
Hosea...Hos
Joel...Joel
Amos...Amos
Obadiah...Obad
Jonah...Jon
Micah...Mic
Nahum...Hahum
Habakkuk...Hab
Zephanniah...Zeph
Haggai...Hag
Zecheriah...Zeck
Malachai...Mal
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New Testament
Gospels
The Gospel According to Saint Matthew...Mt
The Gospel According to Saint Mark...Mk
The Gospel According to Saint Luke...Lk
The Gospel According to Saint John...Jn
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Acts of the Apostles...Acts
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Letters:
Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans...Rom
First Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians...1 Cor
Second Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians...2 Cor
Letter of Saint Paul to the Galatians...Gal
Letter of Saint Paul to the Ephesians...Eph
Letter of Saint Paul to the Philippians...Phil
Letter of Saint Paul to the Colossians...Col
First Letter of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians...1 Thess
Second Letter of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians...2 Thess
First Letter of Saint Paul to Timothy...1 Tim
Second Letter of Saint Paul to Timothy...2 Tim
Letter of Saint Paul to Titus...Tit
Letter of Saint Paul to Philemon...Philem
The Letter of Saint James...Jas
First Letter of Saint Peter...1 Pet
Second Letter of Saint Peter...2 Pet
First Letter of Saint John...1 Jn
Second Letter of Saint John...2 Jn
Third Letter of Saint John...3 Jn
Letter of Saint Jude...Jude
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Revelations...Rev
How to Read the Bible
There are various ways to approach the Bible and various authors and directors gives us all kinds of good ways. Allow me to recommend a couple of these. It will depend upon your time and how you feel it will work best for you.
First: The One Year Plan
This is a very good way that will allow you to read the Bible in one year. It is very simple. Each day, whatever day you choose to start, read three chapters a day for one year and in 365 days you will have read the whole Bible. Remember a "chapter" of Scripture in not like reading three chapters of another book. The chapters of Scripture are much shorter. It shouldn't take no more than 30 minutes a day. Don't forget; there is an indulgence attached with reading the Scriptures for 15 minutes a day.
Be patient as you read through the Book of Numbers and the Book of Leviticus. These are the most difficult to read. Lots of numbers of peoples and laws of sacrifice. Keep remembering as you read it; "Thank you Jesus for coming and delivering us from the old sacrifices."
New to the Old
Some people recommend that you begin with the New Testament and then, only after having read the Gospels, the Letters and the Book of Revelation that you then go and read from Genesis on. The New Testament will allow you to understand the Old Testament better. For an introduction to the Faith it is often recommended to read Luke's Gospel then Acts of the Apostles and then onto Saint Paul's Letters.
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Lectio Divina
Lectio Divina simple means Divine Reading. It is an ancient Catholic way of reading the Scriptures prayerfully and in a way that allows God to speak to you personally through His word.
Directions:
1. Set aside quiet time in a quiet place.
2. Have prepared the Scripture passages you want to reflect upon. It shouldn't be large amounts of Scripture. You may want to use the Daily Mass Gospel as a guide.
3. Once you are in a prayerful place and sitting or kneeling in a prayerful position, place yourself in the presence of God and ask the Holy Spirit to come to you and to open your heart and your mind to His Holy Word.
4. Read your chosen passage quietly and slowly. As you do so what word or phrase strikes you or calls your attention.
5. After reading, sit quietly again for a few moments.
6. Read the passage a second time and see what word or phrase calls your attention.
7. When you have finished reading, sit quietly and reflect upon the words or phrases that called your attention and ask:
-What is the Lord saying to me with these words?
-Why did the Lord draw my attention to these words?
-How can these words affect my daily living?
8. After your time of reflection, speak to the Lord about these words or phrases that spoke to you. Ask Him or talk to Him about what they mean for you in your life. Make a resolve to live out this new insight in whatever way is most appropriate to your life.
9. Make a prayer of Thanksgiving and Love to the Lord.
10. Close with a prayer.
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